2. Grammar – the study
of the way the sentences of a
language are constructed.
3. Sentence – has a subject, a
verb, and a complete
thought.
Sentences are formed with groups
of words called clauses and
phrases.
4. Clause – a group of words
with a subject and verb that
forms part of a sentence or
a complete simple sentence.
5. Independent clause – has a subject-verb
combination and a complete thought. It can
be a simple sentence or part of a sentence.
Independent means to ―stand on one's own.‖
S V
I had to hurry. (Subject, verb, complete thought)
NOTE: The subject and verb of an independent
clause are the subject and verb of the sentence.
6. Dependent clause – has a subject-verb
combination but does not convey a complete
thought. It cannot be a sentence on its own.
Dependent means to ―depend on something else.‖
This type of clause is subordinate (less important)
to the independent clause to which it is attached. It
starts with a ―dependent word‖ (a subordinating
conjunction).
Because I was late (Subject, verb, incomplete
thought)
NOTE: The subject and verb of a dependent clause
are not the subject and verb of the sentence.
8. Four sentence structures
Simple sentence – has one independent clause
with one subject-verb combination.
X
(independent)
S V
I was late.
X
Compound sentence – has two or more
independent clauses, each with a subject-verb
combination; all are the subjects and verbs of the
sentence. Each clause could be a sentence by itself.
Xxx
(independent)(independent)
S V S V
I was late, so I had to hurry.
9. Four sentence structures
con’t.
Complex sentence – has one independent clause
and one or more dependent clauses. A dependent
clause
cannot be a sentence by itself.
X
(dependent) (independent)
s v S V
Because I was late, I had to hurry.
Compound-complex sentence – has two or more
independent clauses and at least one dependent
clauses.
X
(dependent) (independent) (independent)
s v S V S V V
Because I was late, I had to hurry, so I did not answer the phone.
10. Phrase – a group of
words—with no subject or
verb—that work together in
a single grammatical
function.
11. Prepositional phrase – a
group of words—starting with
a preposition—that often tell
when or where or add detail.
These phrases end with
nouns or pronouns.
Time: in the morning during the day
Location: under the table behind the house
Of what: of the girls of the classes
13. Summary
Clauses and phrases are
used to form sentences in
English. The four basic
sentence structures are built
with independent and/or
dependent clauses.
14. Reference
Langan, J. , & Goldstein, J. M. (2011). English
xxxxbrushup (5th ed.). New York, NY:
xxxxMcGraw-Hill.